Legends of Belariath

Necromancy:The Path

*The book seen before you is of crude shape and looks to be put together in a sort of meticulous but obviously carefully bound. The cover and back are plain leather the center of the cover is a enigmatic blotch of darkness in no particular shape it smells of magic and looks to be a wizard mark. A Signature of the Necromancer known to be Augustus Coldfist. As you open the cover and look at the ink you realize it was crafted by a master scribe.*

Introduction

Let me first identify that the information that is within these bindings are my own works. They are a reflection my my thoughts and mine alone based purely on experience and study. While these views may not be popular opinion or even in the realm of reality this is my craft, and my paradigm which will be explained later in the text. What you choose to do with this is yours and yours alone. This book is meant to offer those with a similar path a context of study to create their own paradigm to hone their craft.

Spheres of magic

I will first start my text with a foundation to go from. I will start by listing the spheres of magic in what I’ve come to know exist based on previous text and tomes read each will have a brief explanation of what the spheres are used for.

This first I was lay out is the arcane sphere. For some this sphere is seen as the core for all mages, it is where most find their first form of study and coincidentally has its own pool to draw from the ethereal form of power known as arcane energy. A mages uses the arcane energy and their mind as a conduit to shape the energy and bend to their will. This knowledge the mage can manipulate the energy to do acts such as bind a persons hands, or in more power increase or decrease a force that some have named gravity.

The Sexual sphere is one that only can be manipulated by a Magus known as a seductress. The seductress assumes and uses sexual energy around them to manipulate energy and do her biding as well, much like the arcane mage one would say this technique is across the board similar to an arcane mage and as such the technique follows to all spheres .

The divine sphere is not unlike the rest. The Magus channels the power of his or her deity and with the channeled power manipulates the deities energies to do their biding.

The elemental sphere is one I wasn’t sure to list or not, some would see it as a combination of arcane and nature to combine to form an elemental sphere. The elements hold much power but are forces of nature the Magus uses the arcane and their path of element and their knowledge of it to assume both the element and manipulation of the element through arcane energies. One would say that they harness two forms of energy.

The next, being my own sphere of death. The death sphere is not purely control of the dead but the knowledge and very in depth knowledge of death. All living things hold power, when that form dies the power is released into death energy the energy that the death Magus harnesses and forms it to do what they wish.

The healing sphere has some relation to the death sphere with the exception that the healer uses different energies of the living to heal, they manipulate this energy through arcane energy. In thus a healer can invoke arcane energy to manifest as nature to heal a cut hand, regrow organs with the knowledge they have of anatomy, the same goes with necromancy, the necromancer uses their ability of anatomy to force death energy to reanimate and organism as if their life force had returned. The intellect that the organism once held is null as with the blood that once flowed whatever form that blood took is now death energy. But I digress.

The Symphonic sphere is a sphere driven by the focus of music. In that the musician uses a series of tones to call forth the arcane energy. Remember that a mage is nothing more than a person who can focus his will enough to grasp at arcane energies and bend them to do what he wants. So then, the Magus of symphony is able to do just this with song. Whatever his instrument be this Magus is able to effect all in his range of his tune.

The illusion sphere is much like that of any other. The Magus wills the world to be illusions that are so real one would not be able to tell the difference. Like any other mage, he uses the arcane energy to mimic real things in the world. The Magus shapes the arcane into any form he wants, the larger being illusions of stronger wider conduit mages.

The Spirit Sphere is used by mainly shamans, although shamans of all kinds. They manipulate arcane energies to look past the veil of the living and speak with the dead. Most confuse this power with that of a necromancer. This is not true, the shaman is a bender of arcane energy peering into the world of death energy but unable to truly sense and bend death energy. The necromancer wends and wields pure death energy.

The Nature sphere, a large pool of energy as Gaea created the lands, those would follow in her footsteps in worship as well as power. Those who command the nature sphere are usually passive and calm, but not without power. They use the energy that nature gives true “living” energy. The Magus uses this energy to command nature around.

The Racial sphere is a different sphere all together and is widely unknown. It is my conclusion as the races extend back beyond what has been written, the power of racial magics is fueled not by arcane energies but solely on the long history of the races past and the numbers in which they exist. A large influence of reality in great numbers has impacted the world we live far greater than this sphere.

Energy

Now that all the spheres have been gone over, we know there exists constants in which each magi pulls  energy to use. This energy when focused will cause a change in the fabric of our world. The Magus uses the energy to create that which would not of been provided the mage did not exist or wasn’t in a place at a given time. So it is this reasoning that many mages believe that coincidences do not exist also. Because if chance was such a denominator the Magus would fail on even the most simple spell, for chance would always play a part. That’s not to say once the spell was cast, an outside force of anothers will wont stop it. And in so explaining, here are the different forms of energy and how they are created.

Arcane Energy is a very large pool, while these are not bodies of water I will refer to them as such. It makes the illustration in your mind much easier to comprehend. Perhaps one of the largest and commonly known energy in the world of energy. Most think they are pulling the arcane and doing magic with this and most of them are right. The arcane pool consists of stagnant energy, arcane can be thought of as the wood before the spark. The mage is the spark that sets the wood a blaze. Arcane energy never existed before as another form of energy at all, some think it is arcane energy that is used by the time keepers to keep the world moving. All that is created in the mind and in reality is made from arcane energy. A clay that can be formed and fired into anything the mind can create. With this now, you can see why the arcane wielders can hold so much power.  All that is really holding them back is their paradigm. While the Paradigm is a topic we will cover later, I felt it appropriate to bring up now.

Sex Energy is that energy that a seductress manipulates. It is a rather large and unstable source of power. While each races exists that desires sex or has any sexual thought exists the seductress has power. This sexual energy emits from all living, reproducing organisms that feel the need for sex. That energy is emitting from them all the time. I say its unstable due to the fact that if a seductress enters an orgy which happens often in the temple of Ishtar, then they would find it very hard not to use their power to its full extent. The same too, if a seductress is captured and brought to a isle of eunuchs then, the seductress would be without power.

Nature energy is a tricky pool that has been built from multiple places and things. If you thought, well it must have been created from arcane energy as all things are. In that your statement would sort of be correct. When nature and life forms were created, it was indeed through arcane manipulation. However, which such a life existing that energy transformed. Lifeforms would multiply, evolve and reproduce creating more energy from the living. As the base of living creatures grew the source of energy from them would be known as nature energy. A collective pool of energy from all living things. This, coincidental with all things balanced, also created death energy.

Death Energy is a pool of energy much like the arcane, it is not recycled but is a stagnant pool of energy that sits and waits to be used. However, no one knew it existed until a mage obsessed with death began to discover that living things, when they die no longer hold nature energy or arcane energy. Through careful study of anatomy and intricate knowledge of death the necromancer left his arcane bending as an afterthought as he wielded the rather large and powerful pool of death energy. You can feel those who use such a power, as they are inflicted with the approach of death. If you've known necromancers you can usually feel a sense of foreboding, the same foreboding a rabbit feels as a wolf begins to stalk him. This is not because the necromancer is about to kill you, although.. it may. Its because death is feared by all who are mortal. As death is there ending. All things in life will eventually go to the pool of death energy. So the cycle is and never will be broken, for if it was broken all would unravel.

With the talk of Gaea, another energy. Divine energy is energy from the gods. The pool is fickle and unknown. While the gods can tap you and allow their energy to flow through you. They can also not answer you. More times than not, you will find yourself waiting for a very long time. The most devout and dedicated can often harness this energy, and while it is powerful it is also dangerous to rely on. Such writing remind me of when the gods abandoned us not too long ago for a stint of a week or so.

Those who relied on such power were left powerless.

A Conduit of Death Energy in the Eyes of Unigo

This chapter is purely based on the path of a necromancer trained in the walls of Unigo. For those who do not know, Unigo is a great tower of magic. It has within its walls many tomes and books and a sister tower, Umbara and more.. sinister tower. Those in Unigo are usually for lack of a better term 'Good' While those of Umbara are 'bad' . Those of Unigo seek to help others and to control their power stifle it and only use it when needed. More of a politician, these necromancers usually find work and homes and go about their life with a stigma for being a necromancer. However, they are much like a healer. They study Anatomy fanatically, with this they can discern any wound, or ailment with just looking at someone. They also can heal, usually at the cost of their own life force. Such is the thing with necromancy. Often times to heal life, pain must be endured and a sacrifice made. Its such a mentality that breeds a necromancer, nature is all encompassing and lively while it can be harsh. But the necromancer is pure death. With life comes death. The Unigo trained necromancer is more on the life scale. While this necromancer is not without power, the power over death energy and finely tuned anatomy research this necromancer could also cause harm as easily as heal you. But will only do so when pushed.

A Conduit of Death Energy in the Eyes of Umbara

Some would say this is your traditional view of a necromancer. The Necromancer of Umbara seeks to control through fear. This necromancer embraces the call of death and washes himself in it. He seeks to animate flesh as it calls him to do so. In control and fear his ultimate quest is power. As he rises to his power more suffering, plague and death follow. While this is a scary individual they have their place in the emperors army, as one can see in the story of the Dark Lord Shaka's siege on Valencia. I wouldn't say he is of the path of Unigo or Umbara simply that a necromancer and his power have a place in an army.

Necromancy : The True Path

As you've seen words like Conduit and Paradigm, now is the time where they come into play. It is my belief as I go through my studies that the true necromancer is not the one that learns only one part of his craft to focus on just that. But, a true necromancer learns all that his craft is to offer. His inner self guiding the way and building into the power he chooses. First, let me define a paradigm. A paradigm is a model of thought or way of thinking. Certain rule sets and beliefs create the paradigm that you believe. Your beliefs as Erik the necromancer are far different than misty the promiscuous nymph. So you can see now, that the necromancers of Unigo and the necromancers of Umbara follow a very similar if not the same paradigm. In this I say that they can be very powerful in a short period of time in one part and only that part of their craft. Now the second part is the conduit, what I call conduit is the amount of energy a Magus can pull from the pool of respective energy at a given time. For instance, when a necromancer cast a first slot bone shard spell he pulls a small amount of energy through him to manipulate and expel as a bone shard. When the same necromancer calls upon death energy to raise a deteriorated body it takes a large build up and pass through of energy. The amount of energy that can be pulled and pass through at a given time gives the necromancer significant power behind each effect. This is not the same as slots of spell as many of these spells I speak of are not ruled by slotted skill but by power alone. The true path of necromancy that I lay before you is not a chosen paradigm ruled by instructors, books and tomes. But a path of all things encompassing necromancy and magic alike. A true understanding of the world we live in and the craft we explore. A creation of your own paradigm and the ability to choose how your craft works for you. To choose what you want at a moments notice. To heal, to hurt, to raise the dead, empower and destroy.

Increasing the Conduit

While this chapter is highly experimental, I want to write this down and begin to experiment with it myself. The thought crossed my mind not a while back, it was recent in fact when I embraced a fellow necromancer. I felt her power wash over me and something occurred to me. It was my power, my energy pool she was pulling from. And so I say to you, that if in fact a Magus could increase his conduit to the point of full. Meaning the Magus could pull the entire pool of energy at once or close to it. That Magus would control and master his craft, and reach the height of his power with no one to challenge him in the same arena. Imagine the power of such? We would never see such a thing, because all the time we have others of our likeness leeching from our energy sources at all times. But, what if they could be eliminated? What if we could assume their conduit? Outside of death or cutting the tongue and hands of a Magus I know no other way to cement your energy pool. Interesting to say the least I am researching at this very moment if there is in fact a way to take the conduit of another of the same craft and make it your own. Like a bonding of sorts. Only the power of another would be bound to you, melded in power hand in hand.

Closing

To close this book, I would like to then propose some questions. Who's end game would be stronger? The bound or the unbound? The ones who are controlled by scholars or the ones who show individuality and choose their path of necromancy? Who is anyone to say the way I weave my craft is wrong? Who is to say that I am not powerful because I do not embrace a narrow minded view of my skill? I would say that perhaps my path is the stronger of all the rest, as I have no question in my teaching. I know what I know, not because I was taught it but because it was for me to discover and not the teachings of a scholar who claims to know what it is to be me. And I say we try to remove the leeches from our power sources, if we can the few that have the discipline and mental capacity and conduit to pull a large amount of the source of energy at a given time will be great. If you find my path to be true and wish to ask questions? Be prepared to come to your death, head my words this path is of your own design... not mine.